Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia

Study Region: Shilansha is a watershed located in the Upper Bilate River of the Rift Valley Lake Basin in southern Ethiopia. The region experiences extreme soil water-erosion among the greatest rates globally at 498 tons ha- 1 yr- 1 leading to large quantities of sediment accumulation in Lake Abaya....

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Autores principales: Gedle, Assefa, Rientjes, T., Haile, Alemseged Tamiru, Mekuria, Wolde, Hallett, P., Smith, J.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173888
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author Gedle, Assefa
Rientjes, T.
Haile, Alemseged Tamiru
Mekuria, Wolde
Hallett, P.
Smith, J.
author_browse Gedle, Assefa
Haile, Alemseged Tamiru
Hallett, P.
Mekuria, Wolde
Rientjes, T.
Smith, J.
author_facet Gedle, Assefa
Rientjes, T.
Haile, Alemseged Tamiru
Mekuria, Wolde
Hallett, P.
Smith, J.
author_sort Gedle, Assefa
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Study Region: Shilansha is a watershed located in the Upper Bilate River of the Rift Valley Lake Basin in southern Ethiopia. The region experiences extreme soil water-erosion among the greatest rates globally at 498 tons ha- 1 yr- 1 leading to large quantities of sediment accumulation in Lake Abaya. Study Focus: Surface runoff, soil water-erosion, and sediment loads in the region vary with agricultural seasons and rainfall intensities but are often poorly quantified in modeling studies. This study assessed these effects using the event-based physically based distributed open-source Limburg Soil Water Erosion Model (OpenLISEM), incorporating local field data and multi-sensor satellite data processed with machine learning techniques. New Hydrological Insights: During the fallow season, simulated surface runoff and total soil loss were 9.7 % and 47 % larger than the growing season and 0.9 % and 42 % larger than the harvest season, respectively. Compared to moderate intensity, an 87 % increase in high rainfall intensity increased surface runoff by 159 % and soil loss by 295 %, while a 45 % decrease in low rainfall intensity reduced surface runoff by 49 % and soil loss by 85 %. High rainfall intensity had a greater impact when combined with fallow season land cover, while effects were smallest when low rainfall intensity combined with growing season land cover. A calibrated model parameter set for a particular season resulted in deteriorated model performance when applied to other seasons. These findings offer insights on the importance of considering seasonal changes in land cover and rainfall intensity when developing soil and water conservation strategies.
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spelling CGSpace1738882025-12-08T10:06:44Z Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia Gedle, Assefa Rientjes, T. Haile, Alemseged Tamiru Mekuria, Wolde Hallett, P. Smith, J. runoff soil water erosion land cover rainfall watersheds sediment load models Study Region: Shilansha is a watershed located in the Upper Bilate River of the Rift Valley Lake Basin in southern Ethiopia. The region experiences extreme soil water-erosion among the greatest rates globally at 498 tons ha- 1 yr- 1 leading to large quantities of sediment accumulation in Lake Abaya. Study Focus: Surface runoff, soil water-erosion, and sediment loads in the region vary with agricultural seasons and rainfall intensities but are often poorly quantified in modeling studies. This study assessed these effects using the event-based physically based distributed open-source Limburg Soil Water Erosion Model (OpenLISEM), incorporating local field data and multi-sensor satellite data processed with machine learning techniques. New Hydrological Insights: During the fallow season, simulated surface runoff and total soil loss were 9.7 % and 47 % larger than the growing season and 0.9 % and 42 % larger than the harvest season, respectively. Compared to moderate intensity, an 87 % increase in high rainfall intensity increased surface runoff by 159 % and soil loss by 295 %, while a 45 % decrease in low rainfall intensity reduced surface runoff by 49 % and soil loss by 85 %. High rainfall intensity had a greater impact when combined with fallow season land cover, while effects were smallest when low rainfall intensity combined with growing season land cover. A calibrated model parameter set for a particular season resulted in deteriorated model performance when applied to other seasons. These findings offer insights on the importance of considering seasonal changes in land cover and rainfall intensity when developing soil and water conservation strategies. 2025-04 2025-03-27T05:27:37Z 2025-03-27T05:27:37Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173888 en Open Access Elsevier Gedle, Assefa; Rientjes, T.; Haile, Alemseged Tamiru; Mekuria, Wolde; Hallett, P.; Smith, J. 2025. Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 58:102289. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102289]
spellingShingle runoff
soil water
erosion
land cover
rainfall
watersheds
sediment load
models
Gedle, Assefa
Rientjes, T.
Haile, Alemseged Tamiru
Mekuria, Wolde
Hallett, P.
Smith, J.
Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia
title Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia
title_full Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia
title_fullStr Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia
title_short Responses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha Watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia
title_sort responses of surface runoff and soil water erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity the case of shilansha watershed rift valley basin of ethiopia
topic runoff
soil water
erosion
land cover
rainfall
watersheds
sediment load
models
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173888
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